UK to enhance NATO’s rapid response capability

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has authorised a package of defence support to be sent to allies in the East of Europe, to help them face threats such as aggression from Russia.

The package includes: 500 troops to Estonia to provide reassurance and to react immediately to any crisis or incident; thousands of troops on standby to deploy within days, wherever needed, as the UK leads NATO’s quick reaction spearhead force; around 150 personnel with equipment to deploy to Poland to operate and train alongside each other to improve interoperability; and a target to train 4000 Ukrainian soldiers by the end of March 2017.

In a speech at the NATO Summit in Warsaw, Fallon said: “These deployments show Britain taking a leading role in NATO, protecting the security of our Baltic allies. We can do this because we are increasing defence spending every year for the rest of the decade.”